“Where is the world’s fastest glacier?” If you’ve seen this question written on a whiteboard lately, you’ve probably walked past the Outdoor Adventure Center.
The Outdoor Adventure Center (OAC) is located on the first level of the Sorensen Student Center and provides outdoor equipment rentals and maintenance, adventure trips, and a variety of outdoor clinics and activities for the UVU community.
Rentals include snowboards, snowshoes, rafts, kayaks, camping equipment and tandem bikes.
“We offer outdoor equipment at an affordable rate,” said Kim Reynolds, OAC Director. “Our equipment is very up to date and we keep it in very good condition.”
One of the most popular services that the OAC has to offer are the “adventure trips” which are available through every season and range from day trips to multiday trips to places like Catalina Island, Baja, Havasupai and local destinations as well.
“We don’t make money off our trips,” said Reynolds. “If you decided to go through a commercial outfitter, you would end up paying between $600 and $800 for a trip that would cost around $200 through us.”
The OAC is not limited to adventure trips. Their list of available expeditions also includes academic trips, called natural history excursions, where students can earn UVU academic credit.
Natural history excursions are offered each semester, and students can earn up to three credit hours depending on the length of the trip.
Reynolds also said that UVU has acquired a site in Capitol Reef National Park, which is the first ever field study area that is held at a national park.
In addition to the many services and rentals that they have to offer, each February the OAC sponsors the widely popular Banff Mountain Film Festival to come to the UVU Campus as it travels throughout the U.S. on its annual world tour.
Also, on the first Tuesday of every month, the OAC sponsors an adventure demo day in the courtyard on campus, where students can try out some of the rentals that they have to offer. The first demo day will be on Sept. 18, where they will have their water equipment on display for students to test out.
During the fall and spring semesters, the OAC is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
For more information, visit the Outdoor Adventure Center’s Web site at www.uvsc.edu/oac
